


Confessions of a Teenage Protagonist

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Crushes, Gen, Picnics, Rare Pairings, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 07:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5658538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kuzuryuu invites Hinata, Nanami, and Sonia on a picnic, none of them expect to end up confessing their secret crushes on fellow classmates - with a good bit of teasing and persuasion of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confessions of a Teenage Protagonist

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta'd (sorry!) so excuse any grammar mistakes or typos! Also I wanted all of the crushes in here to be unrequited as well as more on rarepair side - it's nothing super shippy, just nerds confessing who they like. Set in a non-despair AU where they all go to Hope's Peak (including Junko) but there's no school life or island life of mutual killing!

_Crash!_ Hinata froze, seizing up as a wave of panic rose through him. _Shit! What did I bump into? And I was being so careful…_ As his head whipped wildly around, searching for the trigger object, he spotted only several cabinets near enough in his vicinity that he could have accidentally bumped into, with no recollection of doing so only moments prior. _There_ _should be a leftover sensation at the very least, if not pain, from where I collided with… well, whatever made the noise._ He let out a small breath and inhaled slowly - it hadn't been him. Silently, he continued to creep forward, wary of the other culprit no doubt still in the room, since he hadn't heard the telltale _clackclackclack_ of shoes slapping against the tiles on the floor as the perpetrator attempted a hasty exit. Hinata then thought back to his own shoes, left behind in his bedroom for the sake of discretion. Perhaps they had had the same idea…?

He continued his routine of silently inching forward, listening for any possible slip-ups on the other student's end, and steadying his balance by ghosting his hand across the cupboards. The sight he was met with as he rounded the corner into time central area of the kitchen was so blasphemous that a snort escaped Hinata's mouth before he had time to stifle it. His hand flew up to his face, his cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. He couldn't help but notice the color rising to the chubby cheeks of the other person as well as their eyes met.

Kuzuryuu Fuyuhikowas squeezed into a cupboard in a feeble attempt at hiding, a large tray full of sandwiches, pastries, and fruit along with several bags of chips and cans of soda lay on the counter above him, conspicuous as a wolf among sheep. an even larger tray seemed to have fallen face-down on the linoleum, an entire turkey next to it suggested that it had been the former resident of the plate. As Hinata attempted to take in his surroundings, his attention was drawn back to his classmate as curses of frustration and grunts of pain carried across the room. Hinata held back a snicker - as tiny as Kuzuryuu was, he had still managed to get himself stuck in a cabinet.

"Need some help there?" He offered, extending an arm. After a few minutes and more cursing than Hinata had heard in such a short time interval in his entire life, Kuzuryuu tumbled forth from the cabinet into Hinata, who stumbled back but managed to retain his composure and steady the other boy as well, dusting off the shoulders of a coat that he didn't even want to know the value of.

"Fuck, sorry about that," Kuzuryuu began, face tilted to the left and downcast in a not-so-subtle nor effective attempt to hide his blush. He laughed awkwardly, still not meeting Hinata's eyes. "Guess you got sick of the SHSL nutritionist's shitty-ass food too, huh?"

"Oh god, tell me about it. I don't know which was worse - the soy bacon strips that tasted worse than boiled cardboard or Hanamura's complaining." The tension seemed to dissipate as Kuzuryuu doubled over in high-pitched hysterics. His real laugh was pleasant to listen to, the pure sound echoing across the room. Hinata couldn't hold back a wide smile as he watched his friend, but managed to tone it down to a small grin as the yakuza straightened up. They had both forgone surreptitiousness, as no one seemed to be coming any time soon to put an end to their fridge-raid.

"It looks like there wouldn't have been anything left by the time I got here though," Hinata teased. "What even happened with the turkey?"

Flushing again, Kuzuryuu's gaze returned to the floor. "I tried to reach on top of the fridge." The boy's eyebrows suddenly furrowed as he jerked his head to glare daggers at the prep school student. "Don't you fucking dare call me small though. This fridge is really big, alright?"

Hinata rose his hands in surrender. "I wouldn't doubt it," he said, chuckling. "It seems Hope's Peak has spared no expense on their kitchen, along with everything else." The dirty blond nodded - it was the first time Kuzuryuu had been in the kitchen as well, then. "What were you going to do with all this food anyway, eat it all yourself?" Hinata had meant it facetiously, but the boy in front of him flinched.

"Hey, maybe I was hungry, okay? Fuck off." _Had he hit a sensitive spot? What could he possibly be using all this food for if not to eat?_ Kuzuryuu's hands were clenched into fists as if ready to throw a punch. Hinata took a step back, putting some room between them.

"Uh… Sorry? I don't really care what you do with the food, I was just trying to make a joke. If you don't want to tell me you don't have to, but could you at least point me in the direction of some of those sandwiches?"

For the third time in the past five minutes, Kuzuryuu's face grew red and his eyes focused once again on the floor. "A picnic."

"Huh?"

"I wanted to ask some of my friends on a picnic. I just didn't know who… I figured I'd start with you, since you're so friendly with everybody, but you're already here." Kuzuryuu's defenses sprang back up upon seeing Hinata's flustered expression. "It's not romantic or anything, dumbass. It's just eating outside."

"No, no, I get that part." Hinata smiled shyly. "But you really think I know everyone that well?

"'Course," the yakuza scoffed. "Hell, you're the only one that's able to get along with any of us, even Komaeda. Well, as much as anyone _can_ get along with that guy," Kuzuryuu finished with a smirk.

"He's really not that bad," he insisted with a roll of his eyes. "Who were you thinking of wanting to invite besides me, though? I take it not Komaeda?"

Kuzuryuu snorted. "No Komaeda, since he'll make it awkward for everyone, no Hanamura - he's Hanamura, and no Owari since she'll eat everything. I guess that means no Nidai either, since he's bound to bring her along somehow.""Peko?" At the mention of her name, Kuzuryuu's face twisted as if his face didn't know what to express.

His face finally settling on something resembling bashfulness, the boy responded to Hinata's suggestion. "No, I don't think so. No Peko."

"Huh? I thought you two were close," Hinata inquired, his brow wrinkling in confusion.

"We are, but… I kind of just want a break." His classmate's words rang with truthfulness but the slight blush eating at the other boy's cheeks and slightly too shiny gleam in his eye made Hinata wonder if that wasn't the whole story. He didn't have time to wonder for very long, as Kuzuryuu's eyes abruptly darkened with rage.

"Oh. And No Koizumi either. Or Saionji, for that matter." If Hinata hadn't known better he would have thought that Kuzuryuu was ready to kill the girls. As it was, he didn't fully doubt it.

"So that leaves… Nanami, Sonia, Tsumiki, Ibuki, Souda, and Gundam?" Chewing on his lip, Kuzuryuu nodded. "We can't invite both Gundam and Souda, or Souda and Sonia for that matter. I guess while we're avoiding the jealous love-fest let's say no Gundam and Sonia either…" he trailed off with a spaced-out look on his face, expression slack.

"What about Nanami?" Hinata prompted, somewhat selfishly on his own behalf. "You get along with her, right?

His classmate nodded, eyes regaining their focus. "Yeah, let's invite Nanami. And…" Kuzuryuu turned to his plate of food, counting the items he had salvaged. "I think I have enough for four. How about Sonia?"

Hinata grinned and nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's have ourselves a picnic."

 

\-----------------------------

 

After swiping a large tablecloth from the kitchen as well as a cooler, the two boys rounded up Nanami.She greeted them in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes as if making sure that Hinata and Kuzuryuu weren't pixels on a screen. Hinata was half-sure she was going to point a controller at them, but after explaining the situation, she closed her door to change and came back out as alert as she ever managed to be. When they neared Sonia's door, haunting music greeted their eardrums, seeping out from under her door like poison gas. The three turned to each other, Hinata and Kuzuryuu with an eyebrow raised each, however Nanami seemed as calm as ever.

"Did you know she listened to this shit?" Kuzuryuu demanded, and while Hinata shook his head no Nanami nodded.

"This kind of music was on a game soundtrack we were talking about… she said… um… something like one of our classmates got her into it." Nanami nodded as if to affirm her own words.

"I would have pegged Komaeda for this crap, or even Ibuki. But Sonia?" Kuzuryuu shrugged and rapped his knuckles on the door.

After a minute with no response, presumably because of the loudmusic, Kuzuryuu knocked again - the sound echoed harshly throughout the corridor, adding to the eerie atmosphere induced by the music. Finally, the music stopped and Sonia came to the door, wearing her usual cheerful smile.

"Oh! Nice you to see you, Nanami, Hinata, and Kuzuryuu! What an unusual group, however." As she caught sight of the cooler, her face went pale and her eyes widened. "There… there isn't…" Sonia frantically looked around, her head whipping about so fast Hinata was afraid she would get whiplash. Finally, she gestured the trio closer, and glanced around one last time before hissing "human body parts in there, is there?" Whatever Hinata had been expecting her to say, it certainly hadn't been an accusation of dismemberment or murder. He managed to contain his laughter, and Nanami smiled politely. Kuzuryuu, ever, wore a smirk.

"They're Souda's," he began, bringing the cooler closer to Sonia. Hinata hit himself in the head internally, continuing to withhold his laughter. "Wanna see?" His classmate continued, his smile broadening.

The mixture of confusion, appallment, and fascination present on Sonia's face as she nodded was enough to send anyone into hysterical laughter, and it nearly did to Hinata - his resolve was cracking but he second. Kuzuryuu angled the cooler so that Sonia couldn't see inside, and reached in maliciously, grabbing something and hiding it behind his back. The yakuza instructed Sonia to close her eyes, and count to three…

And right as she opened her eyes he smashed a blue-frosted cupcake on her nose. Sonia screamed, crossing her eyes to see what foreign object had implanted itself on her face. Kuzuryuu and Hinata grinned in anticipation, and when she tentatively licked her lip and found it was frosting and not blood, she grinned.

"You had me completely fooled! Though I am somewhat glad that Souda has all of his limbs intact." She frowned, causing the cupcake to slide inelegantly down her face. "They are intact… right?"

Hinata laughed. "Rest assure all of your classmate's limbs are intact," he replied, plucking the cupcake off her face. "We're actually here to invite you to a picnic." Nanami nodded, reaching for the cupcake in Hinata's hands despite the fact it had previously been on Sonia's face.

"Oh a picnic! How wonderful, I have never been on one. I would love to attend, as long as you are alright with me cleaning up a bit first." The three of them nodded, still grinning as the door clicked shut behind her.

 

\-----------------------------

 

Hinata spread the pristine white tablecloth over a shaded area of grass in the courtyard; the warm summer day was without a breeze, yet not as stifling as its predecessors. Nanami unzipped her hoodie, settling on top of it in a way that Hinata found adorably reminiscent of a kitten nestling into its bed. Soon, the group had all sat down and were reaching to grab items from the cooler, and Kuzuryuu and Sonia found themselves reaching for the same bag of sour cream and onion chips. As the gangster and princess's hands touched, the boy flinched, his hand drawing back as if he had touched hot coals.

Sonia frowned. "You may take them, Kuzuryuu. I am also a fan of the plain ones."

"Tch, so am I. Go ahead, they're yours." The apparently ever-present blush found its way up Kuzuryuu's face once again - Hinata decided to be a good friend and pretend it was just the heat getting to the other boy. It must have been awfully hot in that suit, after all.

"No really, I insist! What kind of friend would I be if I took the chips for myself when you wanted them as well?" Smiling, Sonia nudged the bag in Kuzuryuu's direction with her delicate hands. Mumbling something about how now he owed her a favor, Kuzuryuu reluctantly took the bag, piling it on his plate along with a turkey and swiss sandwich and several slices of watermelon, the color of which matched his face perfectly. An awkward silence fell upon the group as they began eating. Surprisingly, Nanami was the one to break it.

"Did you know Komaeda is quite terrible at first person shooters? He access at RPG's and puzzle solving, however."

"That doesn't surprise me. But for someone so sharp, he sure does lose his clothes a lot," Hinata snorted, flashing back to the other day when the white-haired male had asked to borrow Hinata's sweatshirt for at least the third time in two weeks, having apparently misplaced his own again. The sound of girlish giggling snapped him out of the memory, and Hinata turned toward Sonia, who was snickering into the palm of her hand like she knew a secret the rest of them didn't.

"Hinata!" She exclaimed suddenly, and while the aforementioned boy waited for her to continue, she simply resumed her snickering.

"Sonia? Did I miss a joke?" Nanami completed, turning towards the others.

Kuzuryuu shrugged. "If you missed it, I missed it too. Seems Hinata's out of the loop as well," he said, jerking his head towards him. "Care to explain Sonia?" His sarcastic tone had no semblance of the earlier, flustered one.

"It's just," the princess cut herself off with her own laughter. She took in a deep breath and attempted to continue."It's just that Komaeda doesn't really lose his clothes!" Witnessing their incredulous looks, she fell into a giggle fit once more. Hinata, Nanami, and Kuzuryuu all stared at her silently while she regained her composure.

"If he doesn't lose his clothes, where the fuck are they going?" Hinata demanded. An awful thought dawned on him, and he paled. "Don't tell me…"

"Nowhere at all!" Sonia exclaimed at the same time Hinata finished with

"… that Hanamura's been stealing them?"

It took the words a moment to register in Hinata's mind, and even once they did he had to internally do a double take and rewind the scene in his head. "Wait… what?" Hinata's eyebrows raised and furled at the same time, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping, giving him the appearance of a ventriloquist's dummy.

"He hasn't been missing his clothes at all," Sonia managed to get out between snickers. A quick turn of his head confirmed that his friend's wore expressions similar to his: those of utmost confusion. "He just likes wearing your clothes, is all." Sonia continued, now with a gleam in her eye that wasn't present before.

_Smack!_ Whirling around, Hinata managed to catch the tail end of Kuzuryuu smacking himself in forehead with the palm of his hand. Getting more confused by the second, he sought relief with Nanami, who bore an expression he had never seen her with before. _Amusement…? No… sympathy maybe? No… … … affection???_

"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on!" Hinata snapped, confusion turning sour. "My clothes aren't that comfortable, trust me I wear them every day."

Sonia didn't answer, preoccupied with the laughter she had yet to contain once more. It was Kuzuryuu who dropped the bomb, although it seemed Nanami had figured it out as well.

"He _likes_ you, dumbass." The condescending inflection on the word made Hinata feel like he was in grade school again, being teased because a girl had acrush on him. Except this time, it was an eccentric teenage boy.

" _Me?_ Komaeda likes _me?_ " Hinata was dumbfounded. he was a prep school student - not even one of the precious Hope's Peak super high school levels that Komaeda was always going on about. There had to have been some mistake, there was no way Komaeda would have such low standards, even if he was down on himself sometimes.

"It has been quite obvious to me for some time that Komaeda has a crush on you… I think," Nanami agrees, nodding her head.

"I'm just a prep school kid! I have no talent!" Practically yelling by now, Hinata wasn't sure whether he was denying it out of repulsion or embarrassment, or simply low self esteem. Considering he didn't feel repulsed, just shocked, he doubted it was the foremost.

"Talents are bullshit, you should know that by now, dumbass. It's never bothered you before." Kuzuryuu's angry tone startled Hinata. What was there to be upset about in a situation like this, for _him_?

"Really, Hinata, why _wouldn't_ it be you is a better question," interrupted Sonia, apparently finally over her case of the giggles.

"You're always very nice to him and willing to help him out," adds Nanami.

Feeling himself turn bright red, Hinata turned to his food and quickly shoved a cookie in his mouth. Deciding to forego manners, he spoke with his mouth full, attempting to change the topic with the first thing to came to mind. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a change.

"So um…" Hinata started, forming the words around his food and swallowing hard. "Then do you guys have any crushes?" _Shit, that's not any better, but at least the conversation is off of me._

Three pairs of eyes suddenly refused to meet his, in an almost suspiciously timely fashion.

"Come on, if you thought Komaeda's 'crush' on me was obvious, I bet I can guess you guys's!" The words tumbled out of Hinata's mouth as if frantically trying to escape his brain. "Sonia you like Gundam, right? And Kuzuryuu you like Pekoyama…?" Slowly, the two turned to him and nodded, but it's Nanami, who Hinata doubted had a crush, who spoke for them.

"Someone can have more than one crush, can't they?" She wondered, tilting her head to the side, her lilac hair catching the sunlight. Hinata stared at her for a moment too long, causing a blush to rise on both of their cheeks. Hinata didn't notice the blush rising on Kuzuryuu and Sonia's cheeks as well.

"What about you Hinata?" It's Kuzuryuu who asked, with a hopeful lilt to his voice that Hinata didn't catch at all. He turned towards the other boy, shrugging.

"I don't have one." _Lie, lie, that's a lie._ The words echoed from somewhere deep within his brain, but he ignored them and shoved them deeper into the recesses.

"Tch, sure you don't. What about you, Sonia? You got another one?" He folded his arms across his chest, and Hinata glimpsed sweat shining on the gangster's forehead. He was partially right when he assumed it was from the heat.

"Well," Sonia twirled a lock of hair around her finger, and Hinata was once again reminded of his elementary school days. A look of determination crossed her face, and she sat up straighter. "Recently, I found out one of my… celebrity crushes, so to speak, is one of our classmates!" The princess's voice was giddy with excitement, and if the words she spoke were true she had good reason for it.

Kuzuryuu's eyes widened."Aw shit, is it Maizono?"

Sonia shook her head. "No, this sort of 'celebrity' is less… common."

"Less common?" Kuzuryuu snorted. "C'mon, tell us already."

Sonia scanned the courtyard, double checking there was no uninvited company, before she gestured for the other three to lean in. They obliged, and she followed suit. There was a moment of flustered tension between the four of them as their heads drew closer together, and Hinata was sure he wasn't the only one feeling awkward as well as anticipative.

"Genocider Syo."

There was another moment of awkward silence before Kuzuryuu scooted back and threw his hands in the air.

"Aw shit, I should have guessed it. It was either her or Enoshima, they seemed like your type. You have fucking weird taste by the way," Sonia grinned at the darker blonde's teasing. The lighthearted ambience only lasted a moment however, before Sonia turned to the boy - apparently it was _her_ turn to interrogate.

"I _know_ that _you_ like someone else," she accused, pointing her finger right in his face. Kuzuryuu stiffened, expression freezing. Hinata wondered if Sonia was just that good at picking up crushes, or if the two were closer than he had originally assumed. He was surprised. Really, it really didn't seem like Kuzuryuu had an eye for anyone but Pekoyama.

"if you will not confess, I will do it for you!" Sonia announced, snickering manically, finger still jabbed towards the gangster's nose. Hinata hadn't thought it possible, but Kuzuryuu paled further, As if exiting a trance, he slapped Sonia's arm out of the way, and took a large bit of sandwich in quick succession. With his mouth full, he proceeded to do what Hinata assumed was announce his crush.

"Tits her gotta."

_Huh? Does his crush have big boobs? Well, if he likes Pekoyama it's not out of the question…_ Kuzuryuu swallowed hard, red as a beet, and proceeded to bury his face into his hands.

Sonia cupped her hand over her ear."What's that, Kuzuryuu? We didn't hear you!" she called in a singsong voice.

The voice was small and incredibly soft, completely ouItof the norm for the yakuza. It took Hinata a second to register the words, and when he did, he felt himself blushing madly for the second time that afternoon. Kuzuryuu hadn't said 'tits her gotta' he had whispered _it's Hinata._

It was Hinata's turn to bury his face into his hands, closing his eyes and trying to process the actual meaning of Kuzuryuu having a crush on him. First Komaeda, now Kuzuryuu? Who was next, Nidai? God, that would be wild.

Peering through his fingers, Hinata witnessed Kuzuryuu shoveling food down faster than Owari. It seemed as if the boy was paying no attention to what he was consuming, considering he had just grabbed a cookie to put his cheese on instead of a cracker.

A female voice broke the silence. "While we're at it, I guess it's probably appropriate to say that I like Hinata too." Had Hinata heard right? Had a third person just confessed that they liked him? Had the third person been _Nanami?_

Throwing hands to the side dramatically, Hinata let out a frustrated yell, which quickly turned into laughter. Pretty soon all four were doubled over - tears were forming in Hinata's eyes from laughing so hard. The whole situation was just pretty damn ridiculous, wasn't it?

After they had all calmed down, they came to an unspoken agreement to change the subject and not mention each other's crushes to any of their classmates, nor bring the matter up again. Before long, the last of the food disappeared, and the sun beating down on Hinata's face was making him feel sleepy. He could see the others felt the same way - actually, he was pretty sure Nanami had fallen asleep twice already. As they packed up their materials to head back inside, Nanami turned to him.

"You never went." She stated, pouting. Hinata's confused look prompted her to elaborate.

"I mean, you never told us who your crush was. That's not fair" Hinata stopped in his tracks, silently cursing Nanami for bring it up, even though she had a point. It _wasn't_ fair.

"I already told you, I don't have one," Hinata insisted, staring at a tree in order to avoid making eye contact with any of his friends. _Maybe I just don't want to admit it to_ myself.

"Yes you do, I can tell," Sonia said, frowning.

"Yeah asshole, if you're not going to tell us, it must be someone _real_ embarrassing," taunted Kuzuryuu.

Hinata's attempt at making a run for it failed miserably - the surprisingly fast Kuzuryuu grabbed him by his tie and dragged him back to the group. All eyes were on him, expectantly. Hinata really had no choice, did he?

Taking a deep breath, Hinata forced the words out of his mouth. "It's - it's Naegi."


End file.
